Wife murdered in Leeds by husband and woman she suspected was his lover

A murder trial jury at Leeds Crown Court had heard that Miss Wooding and husband Akshar Ali had argued after drinking at Ali’s accomplice Yasmin Ahmed’s home on Reginald Mount, Potternewton in May 2017.

Miss Wooding was stabbed several times and struck repeatedly about the head.

A Home Office pathologist concluded several skull fractures were caused by at least one claw hammer.

The jury heard mother-of-four Miss Wooding suspected her husband and Yasmin Ahmed had been involved in a sexual relationship, but both denied having an affair.

A jury unanimously convicted Akshar Ali, 27, and Yasmin Ahmed, also 27, of murdering 26-year-old mother-of-four Sinead Wooding at Ahmed's home in Reginald Mount, Potternewton, Leeds, before disposing of her body and setting on fire in woods near a lane in Alwoodley.

The jury unanimously found Vicky Briggs, 25, of Throstle Road, Middleton, guilty of assisting an offender by helping clean up and burn material after the murder.

Akshar Ali’s mother Aktahr Bi, 45, of Kings Road, Hyde Park, was found not guilty of assisting an offender. The prosecution had alleged she had made arrangements to dispose of Miss Wooding’s corpse.

His brother Asim Ali, 21, of Kings Road, Hyde Park, was found not guilty of assisting an offender. The prosecution had alleged he had procured a vehicle and assisted in the disposal and burning of her body.

Aktahr Bi and Asim Ali wept in the dock before being told they were free to go.

Mr Justice Langstaff said Akshar Ali, Yasmin Ahmed and Vicky Briggs were due to be sentenced at 10.30am tomorrow. (Weds Jan 17)

The jury had been considering verdicts since last Wednesday lunchtime.

The jury was told Miss Wooding’s body was kept in the cellar at Ahmed’s home for two days before being taken to woodland near a lane in Alwoodley, north Leeds, where it was doused with petrol and set on fire.

Prosecutors said Miss Wooding had started to convert to the Islamic faith and changed her name to Zakirah before she met Akshar Ali, who worked on a food stall at Leeds indoor market

.The court heard the couple signed a marriage contract after an Islamic Nikah ceremony in February 2015.

Prosecutor, Nicholas Campbel QC said it was a “volatile” and sometimes violent relationship and that Miss Wooding had continued to visit a female friend and her family after he had “forbidden” her from visiting.